Tuesday COVID Update: State to open overnight camping & parks restaurants with some restrictions

Here are some Key Notes, Statistics, and Video for Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson’s news update on the COVID-19 pandemic. Governor Hutchinson welcomed Stacy Hurst, Secretary of the Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism and Dr. Nate Smith, State Secretary of Health.

Governor Hutchinson made the announcement today that certain parks will open for overnight camping with some restrictions, and the cabins and lodges will open as well. The governor displayed chart showing how the state is doing daily on the number of new cases as well as the 7-Day rolling average and number if hospitalizations.

He then made the announcement about parks, with the following stipulations:

As of May 1, 2020, camping will re-open for in-state residents with self-contained RVs. (Bathrooms won’t be open yet.) Parks will offer contactless check-in and check-out.
As of May 15, 2020, visitor information centers, retail and exhibits will be open, with limited capacity and with social distancing enforced. This includes restaurants and food service facilities, museums and exhibits, retails at visitor centers, gift shops, and golf pro shops. The marinas and rental equipment will also be open.
Also on May 15, 2020, cabins, lodges and Rent-A-RV will reopen for business to in-state residents, on Friday, Saturday, Sunday & Monday. This time allows for cleaning.

Secretary Hurst stated that the parks superintendents and staff are excited about welcoming visitors to Arkansas State Parks. “We want to invite Arkansas residents back into our parks,” said Hurst. “On May 1st – this Friday our campgrounds will reopen for overnight use for in-state travelers that travel in self-contained RV units.”

The campground bathhouses won’t be open yet, so that is the reason for only self-contained RVs. Park staff are to maintain a safe social distance and visitors are expected to do the same. “We want everyone – visitors and staff to remain safe,” stated Hurst.

On Friday May 15th cabins and lodges and other overnight rental facilities, like yurts, to Arkansas travelers. Hurst said that full detailed information will be available on Arkansas State Parks social media and website.

She cautioned, “Of course if these measures become problematic or dangerous in some way within our state parks for staff or for visitors, we will certainly re-examine these these measures and make new recommendations to the Governor.”

In response to a reporter’s question, Hurst stated that high-use trails that were previously closed would remain closed. This includes Pinnacle Mountain State Park, Devil’s Den State Park, and Petit Jean State Park.

She also stated that the parks restaurants are subject to guidelines from the Department of Health and the guidelines will be public in the coming days.

As a follow-up on the state’s convalescent plasma program, Dr. Smith stated that there have been 30 donors and 13 individuals who have received a one or two units.

He explained, “This is taking plasma from people who have fully recovered from a COVID-19 infection, and it’s really the antibodies in that plasma that that we believe are helpful to very sick patients.” Dr. Smith continued, “We have had a number of very positive results. There [are] ongoing clinical trials and UAMS is starting enrollment for a clinical trial of convalescent plasma, so hopefully we’ll have more than just anecdotes.”

Dr. Nate Smith, State Secretary of Health listed the current statistics for COVID-19 patients below:

52 deaths, up 2
3,111 case total, up 94
- 74 new cases are community
- 20 new cases are Cummins Prison
1,913 active cases, down 67
1,146 recovered total
159 recovered yesterday
104 hospitalized currently, down 5
20 on a ventilator, down 5
Cummins Prison
- 860 inmate cases
- 51 staff cases
Forrest City Federal Corrections
- 87 inmate cases, up 8
- 12 staff cases, up 1
Nursing Homes
- 208 resident cases, up 5
- 115 staff cases, no change